The world of Pre-order.

As a self-confessed bookie, I am a huge fan of getting the books on the day of release, who wouldn't be? Unfortunately for myself I live in a semi-remote area of the British Isles and constantly am left disappointed and spoiler-avoiding till the book arrives. Although this has lessened since having an e-reader, I am still a fan of getting my hands on the book itself and being able to take it in. Especially if I own the rest of the series in that format. Switching between formats is something I just cannot do. Below I will detail the pain experienced of my latest book buying endeavours. 


Within the last month or so, I have ordered two books one from a high street chain and the other from an online company. I expect a two day delay for the high street store as they do not get new releases shipped to them until day of release, and it typically takes two days to come up and be shelved, so naturally two days after the release of this book I went in and the manager hid from me, this was the sign that all was not right in my book world. My book hadn't arrived and wasn't due for another three days. THREE. There had been an issue in the shipping line and the book I ordered was in Cornwall and as the store didn't carry any copies for general sale I was left to wait. It wasn't until a week after release and a free bag of mini eggs later did my book arrive and the manager was happy to give it too me. 


Just a Cat picture to lighten this blog! It was taken for a College Project :D


So, you might think, why not just order online? Guaranteed delivery and no travelling to the high street store to fetch the book. Unfortunately my experience with these online book stores is not all rosy and pink either. Using a major book handling company I placed an order for another book, in another series that I just had to get my paws on. This order was put in two months before release and I even paid extra for the first class delivery with the promise of it arriving on the day. Release day came and went, so did release week. A few emails later and a nasty reply another book was sent to me, this one came swiftly and was through my letterbox no more than two days after the email saying they had sent me it. It arrived damaged and bent, so another few emails and I was told I could keep the book and get a refund.

February over all was not a good month for me to get my books on time unfortunately. I can understand why e-readers have soared in popularity for the simple reason, you get your book on release day no matter what. Have you had any book pre-ordering horror stories?

Talia

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